Allied Minds raises £5m from Neil Woodford for prostate cancer technology

Star UK fund manager Neil Woodford has bought £5m of new shares in Allied Minds subsidiary Precision Biopsy.

Woodford Investment Management, which is already a substantial shareholder in FTSE 250-listed Allied Minds purchased 0.95m preference shares in Precision Biopsy.

Having developed a novel technology to accurately classify prostate cancer tissue during biopsy operations, Precision Biopsy has raised the funds to continue the commercial expansion strategy for the biopsy system, called ClariCore.

The new funds will also be used to continue development of the Focal Therapy program, which uses ClariCore technology to provide 'targeted localised' therapy to improve patient outcomes while reducing complications.

Woodford's funds come a year after Precision raised $33.6m, with Allied Minds saying the latest investment was made at the same valuation as in October 2015.

"We are delighted to receive the additional support from our leading institutional investor as we prepare to bring our ClariCore Biopsy System to market," said Amir Tehrani, Chief Executive Officer of Precision Biopsy.

"We believe that the ClariCore system will help to improve the diagnostic process for millions of patients who undergo biopsy procedures each year to monitor for prostate cancer, the second-most deadly cancer in men after lung cancer."